Smoking Man is an abstract illustration of the devastating footprint left by drugs, specifically crack cocaine, introduced to destabilize and fracture Black communities. The piece serves as a critical reminder of how these substances were used as tools of oppression, breaking families apart, dismantling neighborhoods, and leaving generational scars that persist to this day. The layered, broken lines are not only a representation of the adversity faced but also of the slow, ongoing process of healing, where each pencil sketch attempts to piece together this face of symbolism.
